Michael J. McGivney

Michael Joseph McGivney (12 August 1852-14 August 1890) was an American Catholic priest who founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882.

Biography
Michael J. McGivney was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on 12 August 1852, the son of a brass mill molder. He entered the Sainte-Hyacinthe Seminary in Quebec, Canada at the age of 16, and he later attended the Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Niagara Falls, New York. On 22 December 1877, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop James Gibbons in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1882, he founded the Knights of Columbus to provide financial assistance to struggling immigrant families, and he was known for his tireless work among his parishioners in New Haven, Connecticut. He died of pneumonia in 1890.